Wearable athletic activity monitoring methods and systems

Abstract

A method for monitoring an individual engaged in an athletic activity includes detecting movement of the individual at a first time, using a sensor module coupled to the individual, determining that the movement of the individual corresponds to a predetermined activation movement, entering an active state of the sensor module in response to the determination that the movement of the individual corresponds to the predetermined activation movement, and detecting movement of the individual at a second time, using the sensor module in the active state.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for determining a reaction time of an individual engaged in an athletic activity, the method comprising:
 receiving, at a sensor module coupled to the individual, first instructions to perform an instructed movement at a first time; 
 recording first movement data using the sensor module based on the first instructions; 
 determining a first degree of correspondence between the first movement data and a movement data profile for the instructed movement; 
 based on the first degree of correspondence reaching a target degree of correspondence, calculating a first reaction time based on the first movement data; 
 wherein the movement data profile comprises a pattern of at least one of acceleration data, magnetic field data, or a variable derived from at least one of acceleration data or magnetic field data. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first reaction time is based on an elapsed time from receipt of the first instructions to a beginning of the instructed movement as indicated by the first movement data. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving, at the sensor module, feedback to improve upon the first degree of correspondence. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving, at the sensor module, feedback to reduce a reaction time from the first reaction time. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 providing an output based on the first reaction time. 
 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving, at the sensor module coupled to the individual, second instructions to perform the instructed movement at a second time after the first time; 
 recording second movement data using the sensor module based on the second instructions; 
 determining a second degree of correspondence between the second movement data and the movement data profile for the instructed movement; and 
 based on the second degree of correspondence reaching the target degree of correspondence, calculating a second reaction time based on the second movement data. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the second reaction time is based on an elapsed time from receipt of the second instructions to a point in time with reference to the second movement data. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first degree of correspondence is based on a magnitude of a difference between at least one of sensed acceleration data or sensed magnetic field data and the movement data profile for the instructed movement. 
     
     
       9. An athletic activity monitoring system, comprising:
 an article of sporting equipment; and 
 a sensor module physically coupled to the article, the sensor module comprising: 
 a sensor; and 
 a processor configured to:
 determine an initial spatial orientation of the article based on data collected by the sensor; 
 determine a change in a spatial orientation of the article based on data collected by the sensor; and 
 determine an activity metric of the article based on the change in the spatial orientation of the article, 
 wherein the initial spatial orientation is based on an initial orientation of the sensor module with respect to an external coordinate system, 
 wherein the sensor comprises an accelerometer or a magnetometer, and 
 wherein the initial spatial orientation of the article and the change in the spatial orientation of the article are determined with respect to at least one of a gravity vector using the accelerometer or a magnetic field vector using the magnetometer. 
 
 
     
     
       10. The athletic activity monitoring system of  claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine a geographic location of the sensor module. 
     
     
       11. The athletic activity monitoring system of  claim 9 , wherein the sensor module is configured to enter a calibration state when the sensor module is stationary. 
     
     
       12. The athletic activity monitoring system of  claim 9 , wherein the sensor module further comprises a transceiver configured to transmit the activity metric to a portable electronic device. 
     
     
       13. The athletic activity monitoring system of  claim 9 , wherein the activity metric is selected from the group of a launch angle, a rate of rotation, and a launch speed. 
     
     
       14. A method for monitoring an individual engaged in an athletic activity, the method comprising:
 detecting a movement of the individual, using a sensor module comprising a sensor coupled to the individual; 
 recording movement data; 
 defining a movement data profile based on the movement data; 
 determining a correlation between the movement data and an activity metric; 
 determining an initial spatial orientation of the individual; 
 determining a change in a spatial orientation of the individual; and 
 determining the activity metric based on the change in the spatial orientation, 
 wherein the sensor comprises an accelerometer or a magnetometer, and 
 wherein the initial spatial orientation of the individual and the change in the spatial orientation of the individual are determined with respect to at least one of a gravity vector using the accelerometer or a magnetic field vector using the magnetometer. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 outputting the activity metric in a game-like manner using at least one of points or feedback. 
 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the activity metric is configured to govern a virtual player in a virtual game. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the correlation between the movement data and the activity metric comprises a degree of correspondence. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 14 , wherein determining a correlation between further movement data and an activity metric comprises:
 comparing the further movement data with a lookup table comprising the movement data profile. 
 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 receiving instructions to perform the movement. 
 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 calculating a reaction time based on an elapsed time from receipt of the instructions to a point in time with reference to the movement of the individual.